University, NMK to establish Mau Mau museums

By Wainaina Ndung’u

Kimathi University College and the National Museums of Kenya (NMK) have announced a partnership to establish Mau Mau museums in historical sites in Central Kenya.

The two signed an agreement at the weekend to establish the centres in historical sites associated with the freedom struggle movement.

Kimathi University College Principal Ndirangu Kioni and Itambo Malombe representing the National Museums Director of Research signed the agreement at a ceremony at the college grounds on the fringes of Nyeri town.

Prof Kioni said the partnership would see the two carry out joint research on the Mau Mau struggle and document the same for display at the historical sites.

“These centres will provide reference points for researchers, students and tourists interested in the freedom struggle,” he said.

Sacred Mau Mau sites in the region include caves in the Aberdares and the point where the movement’s leader Dedan Kimathi was captured on the edge of Aberdare forest in Tetu District.

Data centre

The two institutions have also committed themselves to partner in the establishment of a scientific data centre about plant species in the region.

The university’s plant data centre — called Herbarium — will be the first comprehensive attempt to study plant life in the Mt Kenya and Aberdare eco-systems.

“This will enable us to protect species that are at risk of becoming extinct in the region by storing their seeds and establishing how they could be replicated,” said Kioni.

The two will also establish a proposed Coffee Museum, which will document the 100 years of coffee growing in the country.

They will also collaborate in the management of a conservancy that the university has established on the 100-acre Kabiru-ini Forest.